Breast cancer is preventable

Breast cancer is not preventable because the cause has not been determined. It's probably a combination of genetic, hormonal and environmental factors. There is a great deal of research in looking into these theories. For now, our best protection is early detection with mammography (at age 40 or over, annually), a clinical breast exam by your physician or health care provider and  breast self-examination.
 

Breast cancer doesn't run in my family so I'm not at risk for getting it

Over 90% of women who get breast cancer have no family history of the disease , i.e. in a mother, sister or daughter! Only 5-10 % of breast cancer is believed to be caused by inheriting a damaged gene (such as the BRCA1 or 2 mutations).

The majority of women who get breast cancer have no identifiable risk factors, that is 70% of women have no known risk factors. These include getting your periods before 12, going through menopause after age 55, having no children or children after 30 and other factors.
 

I am too young to get breast cancer

Breast cancer is much less common in younger women. For instance 2/3 of all women who develop this disease are over the age of 50. The statistic 1 in 8 is misleading. If you are 25 years of age, your risk is about 1 in 20,000 for this disease and it increases as you get older. Breast cancer in younger women however may be faster growing with more aggressive characteristics. Any lump that is felt needs to be investigated by your physician.
 

My breasts are too small to get breast cancer

Small breasted women are at the same risk as large breasted women to develop breast cancer.
 

Mammograms cause breast cancer

Current mammogram machines give extremely low doses of radiation - - much less, in fact, than many activities that women don't fear at all. For example, the amount of radiation exposure in a mammogram is about the same as what you get when flying across the United States and back in a commercial jet.
 

My mammogram last year was fine - - I don't need another one

Breast cancer can appear at any time. That is why you need a new mammogram every year (if you are over age 40). Mammography is most effective when done regularly.
 

Hormones such as birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy  cause breast cancer

Birth control pills slightly increases ones risk for developing breast cancer. According to a landmark study in 1996, women on the Pill are 24% more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer. But keep this in perspective, if you are a 30 year old with a 1 in 2,525 risk of breast cancer, than a 24 % increase means you'd now have a risk of 1 in 1900 - - far from a certainty. After you stop taking oral contraceptives the risk declines over the next 10 years and essentially returns to normal.

Hormone replacement therapy also elevates the risk by about 30 %, based on a (meta)analysis of 50 studies looking at this particular question. If you stop taking the hormones, this risk seems to largely disappear after 5 years. Keep in mind the elevation of risk is low, particularly when you compare the benefit of reducing heart disease and risk of osteoporosis. In the United States, a woman has a  23 % lifetime risk of dying of heart disease, a 4 % risk of dying from breast cancer and a 2.5 % risk of bone fractures from osteoporosis.
 

Monthly self-examination is the best way to detect breast cancer

There is no evidence (yet) that breast self-examination is effective in reducing the chance of dying from breast cancer. That's probably because women are not properly trained in how to perform BSE and what it is they are looking for. The average size lump that a woman detects on her own, by examining her breast infrequently is 2.5cm compared to a mammogram which can detect cancers the size of a pencil point (about 0.5cm), 2-3 years before they can be felt.
 

Breast cancer is a death sentence

Most women who are diagnosed with breast cancer do not die of their disease. The risk of developing breast cancer is about 5 times higher than the risk of dying from it. So there's a lot of women walking around with breast cancer in their past. If breast cancer is caught early (localized to the breast), the 5 year survival is 97% - - that means only 3 % of women at the end of five years died of breast cancer. The statistics are not only out 5 years but we have 20, 30 and even 40 year survivors !!
 

If I have breast cancer I will lose my breast

There are a wide range of treatment options for early breast cancer (Stages 0,1 and 2). The National Cancer Institute has called breast conserving treatment (removing the lump with normal breast tissue around it) "preferable" to mastectomy (removing the breast) for most early stage breast cancers.